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WASHINGTON – Fifteen Passaic children living below the poverty line can look forward to receiving an early childhood education after U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., (D-NJ-08) today announced a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant to the Passaic Family Head Start program.
“These dollars will change one classroom, and what will happen in that classroom has the potential to impact the lives of the children that enter it,” said Pascrell, a former high school teacher and member of the House Ways and Means Committee. “Our nation recognizes the importance of early childhood education in bettering a student’s chances of success later in life. I couldn’t be more pleased by the federal government’s responsiveness to the children of Passaic.”
“We are excited that we are able to continue serving the community,” said Lillian Ramos, Passaic Family Head Start’s executive director. “We are going to be able to serve more children, and that’s what we are committed to doing.”
The grant, made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will renovate a classroom at 91 Highland Avenue in Passaic, which was purchased by the head start program three years ago, Ramos said.
Four classrooms have already been refurbished and are in use serving a total of 60 children. The building has a total of nine rooms that are usable for classes.
Passaic Family Head Start has two other locations: 23 Aspen Place and 68 3rd Street.
The program serves a total of 240 children, ages three and four, who are living in the city below the poverty line. This year’s Department of Health and Human Services guidelines define one poverty threshold at $22,050 for a family of four living in the contiguous 48 states.
Since 1965, Head Start programs, overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, have provided comprehensive education, nutrition, health and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.
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